Small Business Snapshot: La Bonne Cuisine

Our Small Business Snapshot series features photos that represent, in just one image, what the small businesses we feature are all about. Christophe Kubiak, founder and executive chef at catering company La Bonne Cuisine, explains how this image represents his business.

Kubiak explains...

La Bonne Cuisine is a full-service catering company located in Oakland, CA. We have been in business for over 20 years. A lot of businesses get complacent after that long, but the motor of our success has always been our creativity. Catering is all about celebrations, and we get inspired by our clients — whether it is a company celebrating a milestone, or a couple sharing their love in front of 200 of their closest friends. This photo is a representation of the uniqueness that makes us different.

I am the founder and executive Chef, and my partner, Sebastien, is the president and head designer. Because of this, both food and design have become equally important, so not only does the food taste great, but our goal is that it is always presented in a creative, out-of-the-box way. Both Sebastien and I were born and raised in France, where we were surrounded by great food since we were children. After moving to the Bay area, I was able to open a restaurant, which led to catering jobs for friends, and eventually, for a country club. We decided to concentrate fully on catering, because we enjoyed the creative freedom of being able to create a new menu and design for each event.

Back when we started our catering business, it was important to us that our food was sourced and prepared as ethically and sustainably as possible. Now, being in the Bay area, most caterers have also realized how important this is, and are doing the same. Although we face increasing competition, we have been able to thrive because our clients know that they can count on us to inject the "wow factor" to their events. We have also expanded our services to offer in-office employee catering, which is in high-demand here so close to Silicon Valley.

Most people don't know that we are also a certified LGBT-owned business, which has opened some doors with clients that seek out vendor diversity. As a result, we were participants of the Super Bowl Business Connect program, which led us to cater at Levi's Stadium for a VIP crowd of 20,000 guests!

Nicole Fallon Taylor

Nicole received her Bachelor's degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She began freelancing for Business News Daily in 2010 and joined the team as a staff writer three years later. She currently serves as the assistant managing editor. Reach her by email, or follow her on Twitter.